I wrote a letter to the editor. This is only the second time I've ever written a letter to the editor, but I was so pissed at this guy. Read his article first: Abortion on Demand. (You may have to register - it's free.) Now read my reply: Morality can't be written into law. I don't like the title. It says something different than I was trying to say. There was a reason I chose the word, "legislated". I meant we can't change people's moral fiber by making a law. Morals are either innate or taught. Laws are not lessons.

Now, in a letter to the editor, I can't go into all I want to, but here, I can. Schneider asks, "Should the federal government implicitly endorse this cold, calculated mindset?" No, it should not. But as I said, it's a complicated issue. I believe life begins at conception. I sincerely hope that I will never be in the position to have to decide whether or not to get an abortion, and if I am, I hope I would choose life. But I can't for sure say that I wouldn't. And not everyone agrees with my beliefs. When does life begin? I read a very interesting article in Discover magazine noting the high percentage of fertilized eggs that never even attach themselves to the uterine wall. Nature itself "aborts" them. The article attempted to point out the difficulties in answering that question, and why different people believe different things.

Pregancy isn't something to be entered into lightly. Birth control is important, married or not. (Abstinence-only education assumes kids - or people in third-world countries where we provide healthcare - will never need birth control information over the course of their lives. How naive is that? But that's another issue.) I find the attitude of the woman in his example callous and it saddens me that some people think that way. But I don't think we can change her attitude with a law. I think that education is better. Teach prevention and how to deal with the consequences. Abortion is not a simple fix, and that needs to be taught as well.

I believe there is a place for morals in the law, but it is so difficult to know where to draw the line. I would much prefer to err on the side of freedom than on the side of oppression.

In my ideal world, there wouldn't be a need for abortion. In my ideal world.